Kremlin backs police chief
Chechen interior minister Alu Alkhanov, who was unofficially nominated last week by allies of ex-president Akhmad Kadyrov, yesterday told Russian leader Vladimir Putin he was taking leave from his post to run in the August 29 election.
Their meeting in the Kremlin was given lavish coverage on state-run television, clearly indicating that Mr Putin favours Mr Alkhanov as a replacement for Mr Kadyrov, whose murder on May 9 was a blow to the Russian leadership’s efforts to control Chechnya.
